Michigan State guard Cassius Winston brings the ball upcourt during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oakland , Friday, Dec. 21, 2018, in East Lansing, Mich. Carlos Osorio, Associated Press

Xavier Hill-Mais #14 of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies drives to the basket while defended by Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on December 21, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. Rey Del Rio, Getty Images

Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans handles the ball while defended by Braden Norris #1 of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the first half at Breslin Center on December 21, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. Rey Del Rio, Getty Images

Babatunde Sowunmi #20 of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies shoots the ball over Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on December 21, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. Rey Del Rio, Getty Images

Michigan State Spartans forward Aaron Henry (11) lays the ball up over Oakland Golden Grizzlies guard Tray Maddox Jr. (2) during the first half of a game at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State Spartans forward Kenny Goins (25) lays the ball up over Oakland Golden Grizzlies center Brad Brechting (13) during the first half of a game at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State Spartans forward Xavier Tillman (23) dunks the ball over Oakland Golden Grizzlies center Babatunde Sowunmi (20) during the second half of a game at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State Spartans forward Nick Ward (44) is defended by Oakland Golden Grizzlies forward Xavier Hill-Mais (14) during the second half of a game at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State Spartans guard Cassius Winston (5) grabs a rebound over Oakland Golden Grizzlies center Brad Brechting (13) during the second half of a game at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State Spartans forward Xavier Tillman (23) shoots the ball over Oakland Golden Grizzlies forward James Beck (22) during the second half of a game at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State Spartans forward Xavier Tillman (23) blocks the shot of Oakland Golden Grizzlies guard Braden Norris (1) during the second half of a game at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State Spartans guard Joshua Langford (1) brings the ball up court against Oakland Golden Grizzlies guard Karmari Newman (10) during the second half of a game at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo talks to Michigan State Spartans forward Gabe Brown (13) and Michigan State Spartans guard Foster Loyer (3) and Michigan State Spartans forward Aaron Henry (11) during the second half of a game against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at the Breslin Center. Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports

EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo worried about where Michigan State basketball’s focus might be against Oakland.

Almost immediately, he yanked starting point guard Cassius Winston after a casual turnover, not even 3 minutes into the game.

Message sent. Message received.

The Spartans dialed in after that and played turnover-free basketball for the final 17:27 of the opening half, sharing the ball at a high volume and hitting shots from long distance. No. 10 MSU pulled away to a 99-69 win Friday night at Breslin Center.

Winston recovered and finished with 26 points on 10 of 13 shooting, including 4 of 7 3-pointers. He added three assists and did not turn the ball over again after his early giveaway that drew Izzo's ire.

“It’s a focus in every game, just to push it hard, set the tempo and get it out on the break,” Winston said. “It’s hard to guard that many players when we’re coming that fast.”

The Spartans (10-2) have not lost to Oakland in 17 meetings since the Golden Grizzlies (4-9) moved to Division I in 1998-99.

Still, Izzo said he was not totally pleased — particularly about “effort-related things” heading into a Christmas break.

“I wanted to leave here feeling good. I feel decent,” Izzo said. “I thought we got some work done on our break, but we’re gonna have to spend a little more time on our defense. … No excuse — when we come back, we gotta improve in that area.”

Protecting the ball

Winston and Matt McQuaid each committed a turnover 14 seconds apart, which left Izzo fuming. Those would be the Spartans’ only giveaways of the opening half as they built a 16-point lead.

Oakland cut the Spartans’ lead to 12 points with 13:05 left in the second half on back-to-back 3-pointers by Karmani Newman. But MSU (10-2) went on a 28-8 run – including 17 straight – to seal the win.

MSU equaled its season-low with seven turnovers, though four of those came after the Spartans’ big knockout run.

And they did it by getting out and running with vim and vigor, outscoring Oakland 16-0 in the first half on the fast break and then putting up 31 more in transition to finally pull away.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been around a long time, and I’ve never looked at a stat sheet before and saw 47 fast-break points,” Oakland coach Greg Kampe said. “Holy …”

Night was not Kampe’s next word.

Big matchup

The battle between Ward and Oakland’s Xavier Hill-Mais lived up to its hype, as the two big men bumped and banged around in the post all night.

Ward missed his first shot but then hit his last six before getting into foul trouble. He did not return after picking up his fourth foul with 10:40 remaining.

The 6-foot-7, 248-pound Hill-Mais sat out last season as a redshirt but played against the Spartans his first two seasons and looked unfazed by the atmosphere. He finished 8 of 20 for 17 points before fouling out with 7:45 to play.

Braden Norris led Oakland with 18 points, including six of the Grizzlies’ 13 3-pointers. Jaevin Cumberland scored 13 points and Newman had 11.

Sharing time

MSU continued to distribute the ball at a high rate, with 15 assists on 17 baskets in the first half. The Spartans also shot 58.6 percent before the break, then added to it in the second half by making 21 of 36 shots, though their assist total dipped as Izzo began subbing.

Xavier Tillman set a personal best with five assists, two others had four and three others had three as MSU ended with 27 helpers.

Izzo also was able to mix in his freshmen early and with the regular playing group, inserting Foster Loyer when he pulled Winston early.

The Spartans are off until they host Northern Illinois on Dec. 29 (2 p.m., Big Ten Network).

“Hopefully our guys will have a good Christmas and come back ready to go,” Izzo said.